

What Does a Low Commission, Bargain-Priced Agent Look Like?
The average listing fee to sell a home in Northern Virginia is approximately 2.6% (excluding the fee to a buyer's agent). Generally, a low commission, bargain-priced agent prices their listing fee in the area of 1.5%. That's an astonishing 40% below most full-service agents. Low commission broker-agents are generally brokers or agents who center their day-to-day service model around simply being the low-cost provider without much else in terms of value offered to sellers. Low-cost providers usually come from two schools of thought. One is the belief that technology has so revolutionized the home selling process, and in so doing, it has eliminated the long-standing complex process of selling a home. This i...

Independent Agents are Best Calibrated for Seller Success
BrightMLS statistics prove that Top Producing, Independent Agents perform at an exceedingly higher level when compared to bargain-priced agents and large agent-teams. There is a proven Seller Success Trajectory that occurs across home selling models. The selling model that produces the lowest seller value and highest risk is For Sale By Owner (FSBO) - a model where the seller uses no agent at all. This model produces a very low selling probability. Contacting a bargain-priced agent is usually the first move for a failed FSBO or a seller who is in search of the cheapest agent. The low-cost c...

Realtors® Are Not Created Equal
There are over 16,000 member Realtors® in Northern Virginia between three associations; the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors (NVAR), the Realtor Association of Prince William (PWAR), and the Dulles Area Association of Realtors (DAAR). The largest association being NVAR with over 12,500 members. Buyers and sellers should know the only common denominators shared among practicing agents in Northern Virginia is they have passed an exam to become licensed in the state, activated their license with a supervising broker and joined one of the three Realtor® associations. That's where the similarities generally end.

How Long Do Homeowners Stay in Their Homes?
The average Northern Virginia homeowner stays in their home for 11.1 years before selling. That's a long time and a lot can happen to a home in 11 years - preparing to sell takes time - not just for your home but also for you. Not surprisingly, most of us don't live in our homes day-to-day like we're going to sell tomorrow. We lead busy lives at work and with our family. Maybe we're behind on a spring cleaning. Maybe we're in the middle of a home improvement project that hasn't quite found the finish line. Possibly we still need to contact a professional to complete a few repairs that seem to linger.